On-farm study: Teat sealants can go it alone

Results from an on-farm study at Table Rock Farm in Castile, N.Y., show that using a teat sealant alone was just as effective as dry-cow antibiotic therapy at preventing new mastitis infections in low-risk cows.

The study explored the effect of a teat sealant alone versus dry-cow antibiotic therapy or a combination of the two on cows with somatic cell counts less than 200,000 at dry-off and with no history of clinical mastitis during the previous lactation.

As this table shows, the percentage of cows that developed clinical mastitis after calving was nearly identical across the three groups. The table also shows the percentage of cows with SCC greater than 200,000:

Treatment

Number of
animals per group

% clinical
mastitis

% elevated SCC

Teat sealant alone

47

29.8 %

17 %

Dry-cow antibiotic therapy

50

30 %

14 %

Dry-cow therapy and teat sealant

52

30.8 %

15.4 %

The authors stress that the use of a teat sealant alone is not for everyone. Choose cows with known SCC levels and follow strict teat disinfection and infusion techniques.

The study was funded in part by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education organization.